Dustin Dobbs ’10 & Matt Hawes ’10
Sports Editor & Staff Writer

Girls’ Volleyball

Head Coach Bruce Betts kept his winning tradition alive this fall, coaching the girls volleyball team to an impressive 14–4 regular season record.

This put them towards the top of the FCIAC, but they were defeated by Darien in the FCIAC playoffs.

In the CIAC semi-finals, the team lost to second-seeded Ludlowe. This loss came off a victory over Glastonbury and a win over Greenwich in the quarter finals.

The team was led by Suvi Puritpatarapan ’10, Alex Masiello ’11, and senior tri-captains Jenny Johnston ’10, Eleni Tsilfides ’10, and Taylor Ross ’10.

Field Hockey

The team finished the season 6–10–1. Under first year coach Cecily Cowburn, it ended the season on a strong note.

The team rebounded after losing five of their first seven games.

The team beat Danbury, Stamford, Westhill, and Trumbull in the latter part of the season, propelling Staples into the CIAC Class L tournament.

Captains Amanda Stewart ’10, Lucy Goss ’10 and Katya Strage ’10 played one of their best games of the year upsetting the 13 seed, Fairfield Ludlowe.

Despite the end of season rally, the team lost in the quarterfinal to New Milford 1-0.

Throughout the year the Wreckers improved, locking down on defense and playing more aggressive on offense.

Boys’ Cross Country

Led by their three captains, Jonathon Foster ’10, Chase Tagen ’10, and Sam Zorfas ’10, the 2009 Boys’ cross country team held their own in the FCIAC.

The Wrecker runners started the season well, winning their first four meets of the year and eventually improving their record to 10–0.

The Wreckers finished the season with a record of 14–3, losing two tough races to conference rivals Danbury and Darien.

The team concluded a strong year finishing first in the Bethel Invitation, third in FCIACs, fifth in class LL Championships, and 15th in State Opens. The new addition of Trevor MacLean ’10, and the consistency of Jack Roche ’11, Ben Aldridge ’11, Matt Wormser ’11, and Mikolaj Kulis ’12 provided the team with a strong foundation.

Girls’ Swimming

The girls’ swimming and diving team took seventh place at the state open and also placed fifth in class LL CIAC championships. They also finished the regular season 6–5.

At the state opens the team placed first in the 400 freestyle relay, defeating Cheshire which is the top ranked team in the state.

Another notable meet was against Ridgfield on Oct. 21. According to captain Charlotte Katter ’10 the team expected it to be extremely close, but Staples defeated Ridgefield 102–84.

The team was lead by swim captains Lizzie Rubel ’10, Natalie LeBlanc ’10, Cat Friel ’10, Charlotte Katter ’10, Helene Neuhaus ’10 and diving captain Meghan Kratky ’10.

Girls’ Soccer

Finishing 8–6–1 in the regular season, the Girls’ soccer team made it to the second round of the state playoffs.

The team ended the season strong, highlighted by beating St. Joesphs, a perennial state champion.

The team was knocked out of the FCIAC tournament in the first round in double overtime against Ridgefield.

However, the LLs playoffs followed, where they defeated Manchester 3–1. The top seeded Glastonbury handed them their season-ending loss in a 2–0 battle.

This team was led by tri-captains Katelyn Burke ’10, Melanie Rubin ’10 and Julia Byrne ’10.

Girls’ Cross Country

The girls’ cross country team ran consistently well all season and finished the year 12–5.

During the LL State Championship, the girls endured a tough and muddy course and came in 12th place overall.

Throughout the year, the team’s success was the result of running together as a pack and the girls came in seventh in the FCIAC championship.

A key component to the team was former soccer player and first year cross country runner Ingrid Johnson ’11.

As the year progressed, Johnson improved, becoming Staples top runner.

With the strong combination of Johnson and Captains Olivia Allen ’10 and Kylie Gould ’10, the girls cross country team beat teams such as St. Josephs, Greenwich, and Harding.

Johnson was the only girl to qualify for State Opens and ran well, improving her time by 45 seconds.